On a collection of islands known for their sweeping sandy beaches and rugged volcanic peaks, just four hours from Auckland, Ranasingha has been an involuntary guest.
She’s luckier than others in her position, she says, with her hotel letting her stay free of charge in its staff accommodation and friendly locals providing her with food and clothing.
One of the hotel directors even gave her a sewing machine, she says, enabling her to make a small income.
“My mother always tells me I must have done something good, for me to be in a place like this where people have been so kind to me,” she tells the BBC.
But it does little to ease the sense of being trapped.
Ranasingha says the stress is impacting her health. “I am scared something is going to happen to me,” she says.
“I don’t know what her solution is, to be honest,” says Auckland-based immigration law specialist Alastair McClymont.
She had received “terrible advice” which “certainly” could not have come from a genuine immigration lawyer, he says, pointing to an industry of “so-called immigration consultants” who charge people to lodge applications without fully understanding the risks involved. Ranasingha says she has parted with thousands of New Zealand dollars in fees to Immigration & Secretarial Services.
The BBC reached out to Gallant but did not receive a response.
McClymont suggests New Zealand authorities will not grant the transit visa because, as far as they are concerned, she has no intention of returning to Sri Lanka having made an asylum claim saying her life was in danger there.
New Zealand co-ordinates with its neighbour Australia which means it won’t want to let her transit either, he says, and France and the US are likely to reach similar conclusions.
To leave, “she is going to have to transit through somewhere and no-one will want to take the risk.”
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